Padre Serra Parish
  • Home
    • Parish
    • This Month
    • Coming Soon
    • Ongoing
    • Events By Age
  • About
    • Gallery
    • Homilies >
      • Homilies 2025
      • Homilies 2024
      • Homilies 2023
      • Homilies 2022
      • Homilies 2021
      • Homilies 2020
      • Homilies 2019
      • Homilies 2018
      • Homilies 2017
    • Mass >
      • Mass in Very Slow Motion
      • New Year Mass
      • Epiphany
      • Ash Wednesday
      • Holy Week
      • Ascension of the Lord
      • Pentecost
      • Corpus Christi
      • Blessing of Graduates
      • Assumption of Mary
      • College Blessing
      • Catechetical Sunday
      • Saints Day
      • Mass of Remembrance
      • Thanksgiving
      • Immaculate Conception
      • Our Lady of Guadalupe
      • Simbang Gabi
      • Christmas Mass
    • Ministries
    • Ongoing
    • Pastor
    • Prayer
    • Sacraments >
      • Baptism
      • Reconciliation
      • Eucharist >
        • Spiritual Communion
      • Confirmation
      • Marriage >
        • Marriage Preparation & Weddings
        • Wedding Liturgy Music Planner
      • Holy Orders
      • Anointing of the Sick
    • Stations of the Cross
  • Encounter
    • Family >
      • ​​Christmas Concert & Dinner
      • Fall Concert
      • Parish Picnic
      • Posada
      • Trunk or Treat
      • Spring Concert
      • Summer Concert
    • Children >
      • Children's Choir
      • Faith Formation Registration
      • Faith Formation Balance
      • Faith Formation Volunteer
      • Little Church
      • Liturgy of the Word
      • Summer Camp
      • Stay & Play
    • Peer Leaders
    • Youth >
      • Faith Formation Registration
      • Youth Retreats
    • Young Adults >
      • Sacred Hearts Servants Mission
    • Adults >
      • Adult Faith Formation >
        • Who is God in My Life?
      • Faith Life
      • Peace & Justice
    • Seniors
    • Becoming Catholic >
      • Baptism for School Aged Children and Teens
      • Catholic Inquiry
      • Confirmation for Adults
      • Parish Sponsor
  • Engage
    • Calendar >
      • Presiders
      • Mass Intentions
    • Groups >
      • Bereavement
      • Bible Study >
        • Summer Bible Institute
      • Cancer
      • Caritas
      • Chronic Pain
      • Divorce
      • Faith Sharing
      • Filipino Ministry
      • Knitting
      • Returning Catholics
      • Married Couples Ministry
      • Men
      • Military Family
      • Meditative Movement
      • Open Hearts
      • PAX Christi
      • Peer Leaders
      • Prayer & Pruning
      • Racial Justice
      • Saints Among Us
      • Scouts
      • Single Adults
      • Spanish
      • Toastmasters
      • Writers
      • Women >
        • Lemons on the Loose
        • Moms Group
        • Seeds of Faith
    • Knights of Columbus
    • Music Ministry >
      • Adult Choir
      • Cantors & Instrumentalists
      • Cherubs
      • Children's Choir
      • Christmas Concert
      • Chorus Caritas
      • Fall Concert
      • Jason Stoll >
        • Jason Stoll Bio
        • Micah Wright Bio
        • Yu-Ting Peng Bio
      • Spring Concert
      • Summer Concert
      • Youth Choir
      • Youth Strings Ensemble
      • Dialogues
    • Outreach
    • Retreats
    • Liturgical Service >
      • Altar Servers
      • American Sign Language
      • Environment
      • Eucharistic Ministers
      • Hospitality
      • Lectors
      • Marthas & Matthews
      • Sacristans
      • Livestreaming Ministry
      • Welcome Ministry
    • St. Vincent de Paul
  • Contact
    • Baptisms
    • Contact Us
    • Directory
    • eNews Sign up
    • Funerals >
      • Funeral & Memorials
    • I Need Help
    • Join
    • Safeguard the Children >
      • VIRTUS®
      • Fingerprinting
    • Serra Center
    • St. Mary Magdalen School
    • Weddings
  • News
    • Bulletins
    • Funerals & Memorials
    • Watch
  • Donate
  • Home
    • Parish
    • This Month
    • Coming Soon
    • Ongoing
    • Events By Age
  • About
    • Gallery
    • Homilies >
      • Homilies 2025
      • Homilies 2024
      • Homilies 2023
      • Homilies 2022
      • Homilies 2021
      • Homilies 2020
      • Homilies 2019
      • Homilies 2018
      • Homilies 2017
    • Mass >
      • Mass in Very Slow Motion
      • New Year Mass
      • Epiphany
      • Ash Wednesday
      • Holy Week
      • Ascension of the Lord
      • Pentecost
      • Corpus Christi
      • Blessing of Graduates
      • Assumption of Mary
      • College Blessing
      • Catechetical Sunday
      • Saints Day
      • Mass of Remembrance
      • Thanksgiving
      • Immaculate Conception
      • Our Lady of Guadalupe
      • Simbang Gabi
      • Christmas Mass
    • Ministries
    • Ongoing
    • Pastor
    • Prayer
    • Sacraments >
      • Baptism
      • Reconciliation
      • Eucharist >
        • Spiritual Communion
      • Confirmation
      • Marriage >
        • Marriage Preparation & Weddings
        • Wedding Liturgy Music Planner
      • Holy Orders
      • Anointing of the Sick
    • Stations of the Cross
  • Encounter
    • Family >
      • ​​Christmas Concert & Dinner
      • Fall Concert
      • Parish Picnic
      • Posada
      • Trunk or Treat
      • Spring Concert
      • Summer Concert
    • Children >
      • Children's Choir
      • Faith Formation Registration
      • Faith Formation Balance
      • Faith Formation Volunteer
      • Little Church
      • Liturgy of the Word
      • Summer Camp
      • Stay & Play
    • Peer Leaders
    • Youth >
      • Faith Formation Registration
      • Youth Retreats
    • Young Adults >
      • Sacred Hearts Servants Mission
    • Adults >
      • Adult Faith Formation >
        • Who is God in My Life?
      • Faith Life
      • Peace & Justice
    • Seniors
    • Becoming Catholic >
      • Baptism for School Aged Children and Teens
      • Catholic Inquiry
      • Confirmation for Adults
      • Parish Sponsor
  • Engage
    • Calendar >
      • Presiders
      • Mass Intentions
    • Groups >
      • Bereavement
      • Bible Study >
        • Summer Bible Institute
      • Cancer
      • Caritas
      • Chronic Pain
      • Divorce
      • Faith Sharing
      • Filipino Ministry
      • Knitting
      • Returning Catholics
      • Married Couples Ministry
      • Men
      • Military Family
      • Meditative Movement
      • Open Hearts
      • PAX Christi
      • Peer Leaders
      • Prayer & Pruning
      • Racial Justice
      • Saints Among Us
      • Scouts
      • Single Adults
      • Spanish
      • Toastmasters
      • Writers
      • Women >
        • Lemons on the Loose
        • Moms Group
        • Seeds of Faith
    • Knights of Columbus
    • Music Ministry >
      • Adult Choir
      • Cantors & Instrumentalists
      • Cherubs
      • Children's Choir
      • Christmas Concert
      • Chorus Caritas
      • Fall Concert
      • Jason Stoll >
        • Jason Stoll Bio
        • Micah Wright Bio
        • Yu-Ting Peng Bio
      • Spring Concert
      • Summer Concert
      • Youth Choir
      • Youth Strings Ensemble
      • Dialogues
    • Outreach
    • Retreats
    • Liturgical Service >
      • Altar Servers
      • American Sign Language
      • Environment
      • Eucharistic Ministers
      • Hospitality
      • Lectors
      • Marthas & Matthews
      • Sacristans
      • Livestreaming Ministry
      • Welcome Ministry
    • St. Vincent de Paul
  • Contact
    • Baptisms
    • Contact Us
    • Directory
    • eNews Sign up
    • Funerals >
      • Funeral & Memorials
    • I Need Help
    • Join
    • Safeguard the Children >
      • VIRTUS®
      • Fingerprinting
    • Serra Center
    • St. Mary Magdalen School
    • Weddings
  • News
    • Bulletins
    • Funerals & Memorials
    • Watch
  • Donate
Search by typing & pressing enter

YOUR CART

News

Bulletins

2/14/2020

The Wisdom of Seniors

Picture
Dear friends,

​Last October I had the opportunity of facilitating a Serra Seniors gathering on the “wisdom of seniors” and the following is a reflection on the experience.

In the bible, Job 12 says this: "Is wisdom with the aged, and understanding in length of days?" The question is rhetorical, because the answer was obvious: of course (or in today's lingo, "Duh!"). What was so obvious to other generations and other cultures has gotten lost in our generation and our culture. Older Americans have accepted the condescending and dismissive narrative that they are permanently in weekend mode, that now is the time for endless play and being entertained. Your services, your insight, your wisdom -- in short, you -- are no longer needed.  

But in almost every society, the elderly are revered and consulted for their wisdom. All the great thinkers like Aristotle in the west and Confucius urge consulting the elderly on how to live or what gives life meaning, Don't consult the young; they have not lived enough. When Jesus is praised by the crowd for speaking with authority (Mt 7), they were perhaps praising him for having wisdom beyond his years, as Jesus was praised as a 12-year-old (Lk 2) for having wisdom beyond his years.

Retired people don't have to be retired. They don't even have to be tired! Sometimes an old person is asked to tell her life story. The old person can also be asked to tell what she has learned about life by living. The old person can be consulted for his philosophy, not just for his biography.

Here's advice from a popular self-help book: "Be true to your word." You need to buy a book for that? Old people don't have to read self-help books; they can write them. Seniors don't have to be told what to do; they know. The goal is not to feel better, but to think better.

Wisdom cannot be reduced to little sayings. Those little sayings need explanation, examples, and support -- as well as warnings about when they should be ignored. Each of these little sayings is the beginning of an insight, not the insight itself. Here is a small sample of wisdom from seniors here at Padre Serra, with suggestions on how to continue the insights. 

  • Don't judge. We must judge, and that's good. But don't condemn anyone.
  • People are bad judges of themselves. We tend to excuse ourselves for what we don't let others get away with.
  • Agree to disagree. Continue to disagree until together, after a long dialogue, we reach the truth together.
  • Golden Rule: Treat others as you want to be treated. That's okay, so long as you do want is what you should want.
  • Forgive and forget. Advising forgiveness is useless without explaining concretely how it's done.
  • Have no regrets. Unless, of course, you did something bad, in which case absence of regrets is bad.
  • Let go of what you cannot control. Often something we thought was outside our control isn't. We tend to think something is outside our control if doing it is hard         
  • Be grateful. Keep a gratitude list; add 10 items a day for a month.

You don't have to be old to start systematically questioning your own beliefs -- not so that you will give them up, but so that you understand them.
 
That verse from Job we started with is followed immediately by this one: "With God are wisdom and strength; God has counsel and understanding." Any wisdom we have is a gift from God. Pray for wisdom. When God favors you with it, write it down. Consult God, not a self-help book. Here is the final piece of advice. Have a regular prayer time each day that cannot be interrupted by anything.

Dr. Janice Daurio


Comments are closed.

    All Audio Bulletins Funerals & Memorials Message Of The Week Photo Albums


    RSS Feed

Blessed Sacrament Chapel Hours

Sunday - Friday, 8:00 am - 9:00 pm
Saturday, 2:00 - 9:00 pm 

Office Hours

Monday through Thursday 8:00 am – 7:00 pm
Friday 8:30 am - 4:30 pm
Saturday 3:00 pm - 6:15 pm
Sunday 8:00 am - 1:00 pm
Mass Schedule
Vertical Divider

Telephone

(805) 482 · 6417
(805) 987 · 8100  FAX

For emergencies requiring
a priest after hours,
such as serious illness or death,
​please call:

​(805) 512 · 3208

Email Us

​[email protected]

Address​

5205 Upland Road, Camarillo, CA 93012

Guest WiFi

Login: psp-guest
​Password: pspwelcome
Bulletin
Calendar
Donate
Join Email List
For eNews you can trust.

Staff Login​

​Contact Communication

​Disclaimer